


Eternal Flame

by JiminieDee



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), TWICE (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Kim Taehyung | V, Dancer Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Depressed Min Yoongi | Suga, Jeon Jungkook is a Little Shit, Jin has a mom car, Jin is a mom and he loves his babies, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope & Min Yoongi | Suga are Best Friends, Kim Seokjin | Jin & Min Yoongi | Suga are Best Friends, Kim Seokjin | Jin Being a Mom, Kim Seokjin | Jin is So Done, M/M, Makeup Artist Kim Taehyung | V, Medicinal Drug Use, Min Yoongi | Suga Needs a Hug, Min Yoongi | Suga is a Mess, Minor Original Character(s), Park Jimin (BTS) is a Sweetheart, Producer Min Yoongi | Suga, Sad Min Yoongi | Suga, Slice of Life, Teacher Kim Seokjin | Jin, Unrequited Love, Workaholic Min Yoongi | Suga, jin is a good hyung, not fantasy, yoongi has ocd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JiminieDee/pseuds/JiminieDee
Summary: Genius producer Min Yoongi was said to be the eternal flame of the Korean music industry. He was known for what he did best, producing record breaking hits for dozens of artists. The man had poured out his passion and soul into his work and never disappointed. He worked tirelessly since his career began at the age of seventeen.Ten years later and Yoongi felt like he had reached his limit. He was tired, depressed and could barely function on his own. He was on more drugs than he thought a person should be taking. He was slipping. He didn't feel like the eternal flame that everyone said he would be anymore. He felt the eternal fire that he once was was reduced to mere embers now.I'm in the process of rewriting this. If any of you have suggestions, anything you liked or don't like, I just made a twitter account @HopeTan9Any and all constructive criticism is appreciated.
Relationships: Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	1. Jungkook

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post on Ao3 and this is a work in progress story, so depending on how this goes will determine if I continue to post updates.  
> .  
> I'm glad to be here XD. Please comment! I want to know how you guys like it.

Yoongi’s fidgety hands were shaking again. It could have been from the nerves; the pressure of an approaching deadline, or the fact that he hadn’t gotten any real food or sleep in weeks. Both happened to be very valid reasons that also happened to apply to him, but he ignored his body’s warning signs - just like the imperfect human he was - in favor of staring off into the abyss while his shaky hands did whatever they could to calm themselves.

His left hand rubbed circles into his thigh, it had been a while since he had gotten up to move around and it had been acting up for the whole duration of the week. He briefly considered visiting his therapist ahead of schedule before his mind wandered off again. The producer's right hand tapped furiously away on his desk to a beat that he must have heard some hours ago from one of these files that he had been listening to since he holed himself up in his studio.

The playlist contained various song demos and unfinished tracks that he had parted with ages ago. Everything that was saved to that playlist came from what Yoongi's best friend, Kim Seokjin, would jokingly call the producer’s “Blue Period”. Yoongi could only laugh at his friend's words; it was true after all, but he wouldn't say anything worth keeping came out of it. He had happened upon it by accident. Yoongi had carelessly left the folder containing the demos open when he stepped out to use the restroom. 

Yoongi had no intention of reopening any of the files that he was currently listening to prior to his assignment. Whatever he made during the “blue period” was just raw emotion. During times such as the “Blue Period” Yoongi used music as more of a stress reliever than for work. He poured out all of his pent up emotions into his music and locked the files away when he was done. The producer had no intention of opening these files again, but the company was demanding that he produce ten tracks in two months for a new group that was scheduled to debut in August. Seokjin - who just so happened to be a vocal coach at the same company - was outraged with the heads and voiced his opinion quite fiercely for an entire week before Yoongi begged his friend to let it be. “Don't get so worked up about it Jin-hyung.” He had said with the most honest smile he could manage. “It'll be a breeze. I'll finish those tracks with plenty of time to spare.” Which was bullshit, he was dried out; no inspiration or motivation whatsoever, but he didn't dare say it aloud. Even if his friend already knew it.

The producer that had been assigned to them previously was fired due to their involvement with one of the trainees. The producer took all six songs that he had finished and left the company leaving Yoongi to start from scratch. After six weeks of nonstop work - except for the times Seokjin barges into his studio to get him to eat a "real meal" - and nonexistent sleep schedules - aside from that time Seokjin barged in again to force the younger to sleep (he changed the passcode to his studio after that) - Yoongi was able to produce eight full length tracks and a two minute intro song with the help of his demos, but the producer had hit another roadblock by the time he reached the outro track. He involuntarily slept for two days - more like blacked out for two days - before locking himself back in his studio for the remainder of the month.

The young producer rolled his neck then shoulders and hit the spacebar, successfully stopping the playlist. He had lost count of how many times that playlist had restarted. Yoongi groaned and ran a hand down his face in an attempt to wipe the sleep away. He couldn’t risk sleeping at this point; wouldn’t be able to meet his deadline if he did. He had five days to finish the last track, save the track to a flash drive and hand it over to the boss for confirmation. The last week of eight he would save for the higher ups incase they wanted him to make any changes.

Yoongi gathered the papers that lay scattered across his desk and pushed them into what was supposed to be a pile. He laid back against his chair with a huff, letting it spin. He stopped when he saw a figure standing in front of his door. He couldn't tell who it was because of the frosted glass on his door. The producer honestly didn't want to put up with whoever it was on the other side, but he had been meaning to get up and stretch his legs anyway. 

The person raised their fist and knocked against the glass. But because the room was soundproof, their knocking was left unheard. Yoongi scowled. Whoever was outside must be new if they didn't know that the studios were soundproofed. The producer hated to deal with new people. They were like headless chickens. Always running around taking on more than they can handle but not knowing how to do any of it.

Yoongi got up from his chair, coffee mug practically glued to his left hand at this point. He paused halfway to the door to see the figure raise another fist and start to knock with both hands. How childish. Yoongi scowled as he walked the rest of the way to the door. He unlocked the two manual locks and pulled the door open. The person in front of him flinched and covered their face with their arms.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me Gloss-ssi!" Yoongi rolled his eyes at whom he realized must be a trainee. The boy seemed to tower over the producer. Yoongi grumbled a warning at the boy and leaned against the door frame. It probably made him look shorter, but he could care less at the moment. The trainee slowly lowered his arms and looked up past the producer. Yoongi sighed knowing what would happen next. The trainee snorted as his eyes came back down to the producer and then looked back up and down again.

"If you say it, I really will hurt you." The boy gasped and threw a hand over his mouth. "What do you want?"

"Kim-sonsaengnim wants to see you."

"And he couldn't come down himself because…?"

"He said you wouldn't let him in if he did." 

"Damn right I wouldn't." Yoongi sighed and walked back into his studio to set down his mug and to grab his phone. The trainee let himself in and looked around the room with wide eyes.

"This is your studio?"

Yoongi grumbled a "Yes" as he searched through a pile of paper for his keys.

The boy looked around with wide doe eyes and suddenly jumped up in excitement. "Are those the songs we're supposed to be singing?!" The boy crowded the producer's work space and made himself comfortable before Yoongi could even process what was happening. The boy put the headset over his ears and pressed play on the unfinished track that was in the corner of his desktop. Yoongi blinked at the boy slowly. _What the hell is going on?_ The producer asked himself. He looked back down at his desk and frowned when he saw his keys sitting right next to his mouse, uncovered and out in the open.

Yoongi sighed and tapped the boy's shoulder.

"Alright kid, off." The trainee moved the headphones down to rest on his neck and looked back at the producer.

"I think that if you lower the octaves towards that last measure... what is it? Measure 50? Then it'll help get to the bridge easier and then if you add something a bit faster in the bridge then it will set up the ending quite nicely." The trainee pointed around in the score and then to the audio to explain and Yoongi stared at the screen with furrowed brows.

"You make music kid?" The boy blushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I dabble with tribase every once in a while, but I haven't had time with all of our training."

"This is good. Thanks a lot, kid." Yoongi nodded with a pout and made the changes to the song. "I'll have to change the audio in the bridge later. Wouldn't want to keep Jin waiting, he might bite my head off and then yours just for kicks." The trainee looked back at Yoongi with those side eyes and mouth agape. He scurried to his feet and placed the headphones gently on the producer's desk.

"Y-you're right. T-thank you for letting me listen Gloss-ssi!" Yoongi grimaced at the name and then at the trainee's bow 

"Hyung is fine." He mumbled. "You don't have to bow either" He continued after a moment. The boy looked back up with a wide bunny toothed smile and crinkled eyes.

"Ok Hyung." The boy looked excited. Yoongi gave him a small smile and walked over to the door. "My name is Jungkook!" The trainee said and skipped after the producer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I'd love to hear from you all


	2. Seokjin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Kim Seokjin the cracked pink Queen.  
>   
> Seokjin is a mom and they go driving

The walk to the vocal room was short, but Yoongi was dreading every step. He didn't like to worry his hyung, but considering who Yoongi is and his infamous work ethic, Jin being worried was inevitable and happened quite often. It seemed to be his permanent state of being.

Yoongi took a deep breath before opening the door to the vocal training room and walked in.

The vocal room was about 3 meters long and 2 meters wide. It was small, meant for solo practice. The walls were colored a soft cream with gray soundproofing panels. The floor had dark brown bamboo styled flooring. In the far left corner was a white baby grand piano. Sitting on the bench was Kim Seokjin.

"If it isn't my favorite Dongsaeng!" He heard Seokjin shout. He sounded… happy? The producer had thought the elder would be furious. Seokjin stood from where he was sitting at the piano with a smile on his face. Seokjin's hair was dyed blonde - last time Yoongi had seen him it was brown. He wore a light pink short-sleeved button down and black slacks. It was rare to see the elder in anything that wasn't remotely pink. Since they had begun college, pink had become his trademark. The elder walked towards Yoongi with his arms raised for a hug.

"It's good to see-" Yoongi cut himself off when Seokjin continued past him. He spun around to see the elder wrap his arms around the trainee Jungkook. He had nearly forgotten that the boy was still following him.

"I missed you so much Kookie!" 

"Yah! Hyung?!" Yoongi whined, looking dejected.

"Don't 'Yah Hyung' me! Yah, _you_. How dare you lock me out of your studio? How _dare_ you! Nobody locks Kim Seokjin out of anywhere!"

"Sonsaengnim, you're yelling in my ear."

"Exactly, _my_ studio."

"You didn't even message me! A simple 'Dear World Wide Handsome Kim Seokjin, I am alive, I am healthy, I ate that grilled Galbi that you left by my door and drank the rosemary tea that you had left there as well. It was delicious, I appreciate you Hyung, my dearest, oldest friend.'" Jin yelled taking a breath only once he had finished.

"That's not simple at all-"

"Yoongi! The Janitor had to throw it away because there was a complaint about the smell! You hadn't even opened the door!" Jin turned dramatically with his arms still wrapped around Jungkook's neck. The younger swung around holding onto the older for dear life since he had lost his footing. "Do you piss in the bottles from those energy shits that you leave all over the place?! I know you haven't even left that God forsaken studio, I checked the camera's to make sure you at least used the bathroom so you can't try to convince me otherwise." 

"How did you-" Yoongi could feel the all too familiar feeling of guilt beginning to sink it's way into his skin.

" ** _No one_** locks Kim Seokjin out of anywhere, Min Yoongi!" Seokjin shouted once more before releasing the trainee. Jungkook stumbled and fell somewhere to Seokjin's left. The elder walked over him and put his arm around Yoongi's shoulders. "We're leaving. I'm taking you home and then we're going out to eat because I know damn well that you either have no food at home or it's all expired by now."

"Ok." Yoongi mumbled not wanting to fight the elder on his decision. He couldn't bear to upset his hyung more than he already had.

"We're done for today Kook, go drink some water and take a nap." The younger nodded and bowed. Jin ruffled Jungkook's hair and walked out of the room with Yoongi in tow.

"I'm not letting you drive until you get some sleep." Jin said as he led Yoongi to his car. Yoongi grimaced at the car and opened the passenger door. It was a pink Subaru outback. It was revolting to look at. Because of Jin's paycheck and his obsession with the color pink, Jin could have literally any other pink car in existence, but he still chose that. Yet somehow, it was perfect for the older. 

"This car is hideous."

"Thanks, I'll make sure to use it when I run you over. I'll even put eyelashes on the headlights. Just for you." Yoongi scoffed. That was when Seokjin pulled out of his parking space and drove off into the streets of Seoul.

The ride to Yoongi's apartment was spent with friendly banter and Seokjin's horrible jokes. It was nice, unusually so. Things quieted down after Seokjin heard Yoongi burst into a laughing fit. It had been several months since he was able to make the younger laugh like that, like he actually meant it. He smiled softly and glanced over at his dongsaeng as he calmed down. They settled into a peaceful silence. Seokjin would occasionally hum to a song he liked on the radio, but for the most part he kept quiet. He thought that Yoongi would appreciate the silence.

The elder pulled into the parking lot behind the apartment complex.

"Ok go shower. Then we'll go eat." Yoongi grunted an affirmation and got out of the car. He closed the door gently and gave Jin a small smile. He knew that the elder was trying his best to make him laugh or smile. Jin used to be so good at it; making Yoongi laugh, but one day Yoongi just stopped smiling; stopped laughing, and soon enough the two of them had stopped hanging out. It wasn't a conscious decision that Yoongi had thought and made on his own; things just stopped working out between the two of them. When he became aware of their distance the producer blamed himself. Instead of confronting Jin and trying to mend his error, Yoongi dove into his work. Jin had been the one to sit Yoongi down and have a talk with him. He was always better with his words than Yoongi. Jin promised that nothing would tear them apart. "I will always be your best friend, Yoongi-yah, but you gotta talk to me. Okay?" Things seemed to smooth out after that. 

Yoongi shook himself from his thoughts and trudged into the apartment complex then took the elevator to the tenth floor. He found the key to his room after about three minutes of checking the same five keys. The producer kicked off his shoes and placed them by the coat rack. After aligning them with the coat rack and the wall he walked into a pair of house slippers and dragged his feet around the apartment. He dropped his keys into a bowl by the front door. They clinked against another pair already in the bowl. He stopped and looked back at the bowl and picked them both up and dropped them back down at the same time. He frowned and repeated the action two more times before shuffling towards the bathroom.

The first thing he did when he walked in was look at the mirror. He ran a hand through his greasy faded silver hair and sighed. His roots were coming back in and his hair was longer than he would have liked. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked more pale than normal. Yoongi traced a finger down his ever sharpening jawline and couldn't stop the groan that forced its way out of his mouth. He'd lost more weight. He was skinny enough if he was being honest. No wonder Jin worried so much, he looked like a ghost of his former self—not that he was much of a looker to begin with. The producer stared back into his seemingly lifeless eyes a moment more then let his gaze fall down to the collection of bottles to the right of his sink; a collection of about a dozen different drugs from different doctors prescribed to treat the same things. 

The producer grabbed a container labeled _Paxil_ and placed it on the left side of the sink to grab later. He pushed the other bottles back into their places and turned their labels to face him. He stared blankly at the containers, some white and some orange. He could hardly feel the shame that would take over him every time he stepped foot inside of the bathroom.

It felt good to shower at home, much better than the few times he forced himself to shower at the company building. He cleaned himself as thoroughly as possible before standing to enjoy the hot water. Once satisfied, he shut the water off and stepped out. 

When he made it to his bedroom he put on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants; the articles were typical sleeping clothes for the producer. He was sure that Jin wouldn't mind that he wanted to dress comfortably. To ensure that the elder wouldn't be on his back, he slipped on the hot pink hoodie Jin had given him for his birthday.

_"Yoongi-yah I gift you this masterpiece, it's my favorite hoodie if you haven't noticed. It'll make you just as amazing as I am." Jin was drunk off his ass, holding out the hoodie like he was a servant presenting something to royalty. He had been parading around the campus with that hoodie on for the past month. There was no way Yoongi wouldn't have known how much Jin liked the hoodie considering they were also roommates._

_"Thanks I guess." Pink was never a color Yoongi thought that he'd wear. He was more of a black and only black kind of guy, but for his hyung's sake he would… at least once._

_"You're very welcome my wonderful dongsaeng." The elder let himself hang off of Yoongi's shoulder and grabbed the red solo cup from his hands. Jin swirled the contents around and downed it in one go. The elder decided to take Yoongi out to a college party for his 19th birthday. While Jin had taken the liberty to get completely hammered and "let loose" Yoongi stood off to the side nursing the same cup of mystery alcohol for the past 3 hours._

_Yoongi had ended up walking the elder home with a faint smile on his face. Jin had made a fool of himself and danced on top of a table with some lanky nerd in a turtleneck. Who goes to a college party in a turtleneck? The two ended up making out after the taller stumbled and fell off the table. It was chaotic to say the least. Yoongi wouldn't deny that he had a good time. He couldn't, any time with Jin was a good time. Well… unless he was being scolded._

Yoongi tucked his keys and wallet back into his back pocket and went outside to meet back with Jin. When he got outside he saw the elder was on the phone with someone. Yoongi knocked on the window lightly. Seokjin jumped in his seat and yelled.

"Ayah!?! Y-yoongi!" He unlocked the doors. "I'll call you back." He said into the phone and hung up, tossing it to the back of his car like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. "Yoongi-yah! My hoodie!" Jin yelled.

"It hasn't been yours for almost nine years Hyung."

"Ah, Yoongi, you gotta let me enjoy myself once in a while." The elder grumbled and started the car.

They were only driving for another five minutes before Jin was pulling into a small parking space behind a small restaurant called _Soomin's_. A bell chimed above them as they opened the door. Walking into the restaurant, Yoongi was immediately hit with the scent and feel of home. Or what a home should typically feel like. It was cozy and spacious with modest decorations and furniture. An older woman shuffled out from behind the counter with a blinding smile on her face.

"Welcome welcome!" She seemed genuinely happy to see some customers. "It's so nice to see new faces, everyone who comes around nowadays is a regular. My name is Park Soomin, I'm the owner." She reached out to shake both of their hands with that same smile. "Come come, you both must be starved." She gestured for them to follow her to a booth by the window. "I'll be back with some water for the two of you." She shuffled back to the kitchen. Yoongi sat down in the booth. He felt winded. The way Seokjin blinked back at him proved that they were both feeling the same way. 

"She seems… energetic. What are we doing here?" Yoongi asked once he had made himself comfortable.

"I just wanted to try something new, Yoongi. No harm in that." Yoongi huffed and pulled his hood over his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I want to see how you guys like the fic so far.


	3. Jimin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoongi gets shit done and meets an old friend

The following day Yoongi walked into work five hours late. He was hoping that he would be able to sleep for the next few days, but he had work to get done so he set several alarms anyway. He worked too hard for too long to miss his deadline now. The producer had heard none of his alarms, hence his tardiness. He was actually surprised that he hadn't slept longer than just 12 hours.

Yoongi walked into the company building with his flash drive gripped tightly in his hand. He needed to get the last track done and since that trainee, Jungkook, had given him some advice he would be able to finish with no problem now. The producer shook his head at the memory of Jungkook barging into his studio and making himself at home, the behavior reminded him of Seokjin. 

The producer walked into the elevator, hit his floor number and closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths and opened his eyes again when the elevator dinged on the first floor, he had been on the ground floor parking lot previously. In rushed a flurry of people packing the elevator, forcing Yoongi to the side. He swallowed a panicked yelp and closed his eyes again. There were too many people and he felt his throat was starting to close up on him. Yoongi kept quiet and focused on his breathing like Jin had taught him. He felt a familiar urge to sink down to the floor and make himself as small as possible, but he wasn't sure that he could stand any of the stares and certainly not the whispers. So he stayed where he was and stuck to his breathing, trying to look like he wasn't about to have a panic attack; pretending that the walls weren't closing in on him faster than the crowd. He'd been told that he had a rather convincing poker face.

_Deep breath in, hold, breath out. Deep breath in, hold, 1, 2, 3, that's it, breath out._

It continued like this as the elevator ascended the company building at an excruciatingly slow pace. The longer Yoongi stood in the elevator, the harder it became to resist the ever increasing urge to curl in on himself. It was tiresome. Yoongi forced himself to peek an eye open after losing count of how many floors he went up. He was relieved to see that the crowd had thinned considerably and that he hadn't missed his floor, it was next.

When the metal doors opened Yoongi rushed out and hurried down the hall to his studio. The producer cringed slightly when he walked into his studio. It was a mess, just like Jin had suspected. There were boxes of takeout and ramyeon scattered across most surfaces in the room. The coffee table in front of his couch and the desktop around his computer were almost completely covered. A wave of shame crashed over the producer. Just yesterday a trainee had stood in his room and gawked. Yoongi was too out of it to suspect that he could have been surprised about the state of the room rather than the fact that he was standing in it. He could have sworn he saw the kids eyes sparkle… he must have thought it was funny, he'll probably tell all his friends about it; how Gloss is a depressed slob that can't do his job anymore. Yoongi shook his head and grabbed a trash bag from under his desk and started to clean up. He got to work throwing styrofoam to-go boxes and classic cardboard takeout boxes with leftover noodles and rice stuck to the bottom.

He grimaced when he started to see how many energy drinks he had in his studio. 

_Jin was right._ He thought to himself as he tossed his tenth can of _Bacchus-F_ into the trash bag. The producer spent the following hour tidying up his studio with a frown on his face. He wasn't sure when he let it get like this. The cleanliness of his studio was one of the few things he had control of and knowing that he had been the one to trash it really did a number on his mood, not that it was in the best shape anyway.

After closing a second garbage bag, Yoongi sighed and set it next to the first just outside his door. He stopped in the hall to stretch his back. It was starting to get stiff because he was bending over so much. When he got a few good cracks in, the producer turned back into his studio to finish his assignment. 

He sat down at his computer and got to work. He plugged in the flash drive that he had brought with him and opened up the untitled outro file on tribase. He made the edits that Jungkook had suggested he make and went to listen to the entire album once he had finished. The finished product consisted of 10 songs, twice as many songs as typical new idols groups would have. It takes a lot of work and time for idols to learn so many songs, and the company doesn't like to give the trainees this type of stress and pressure. This confused Yoongi, but he chose not to worry about it for now. It would still be categorized as a "Mini Album" so there is a chance that some songs would be cut or released separately, but that wasn't Yoongi's job. Therefore not his problem. For this assignment Yoongi was tasked to make audio, not lyrics. The lyrics would be made by the upcoming idols and they would be coached by other producers. Since Yoongi had no lyrics to work with he was given rough drafts of the singer's previous lyrics and a theme. 

The trainees wanted to tell a story about their upbringing; about their struggle to get where they are now with a touch of rebellion. It's partially why Yoongi agreed to work on their music, it reminded him of himself in a way. Working his ass off to make a name for himself, not letting society tell him what to feel, how to act or who to love. Of course when he first started in the music industry his theme wasn't just "a touch of rebellion". He was the embodiment of rebellion at the time.

He made a name for himself in the underground of Daegu before he went to college in Seoul and met Jin. At age 17, Gloss was a force that could not be brought down. The fire that was Yoongi's passion for music and activism burned bright and shown through the sparkle in his eyes. Soon after Yoongi's debut in the underground was scouted by a no name company called BigHit. 

_"We've heard your work. The world needs to hear your lyrics, your music. We can make it happen."_

_"You're right. The world does need to hear me." The scout looked up at Yoongi, who was on stage, with hope in his eyes. Yoongi smirked. "But I'll do it myself. I don't need your help. You'll just turn me into one of your painted robots and censor my lyrics if you let me write 'em at all." The scout frowned._

_"That's not-" Yoongi stood and brought the mic to his lips. "Wait! It's not like that. Gloss-ssi wait! Just hear me out please!"_

_"I did, and I told you I'm not interested." With that Yoongi spun on his heel and walked off towards the center of the stage._

_Would you look at me now._ Yoongi scoffed at the memory and closed tribase after saving the file. Maybe he had been a bit too rebellious for his own good. The producer made sure that the file was updated onto his flash drive and unplugged it. There were too many instances where Yoongi would forget to save his files and almost end up missing a deadline because he didn't double check. So now Yoongi doubles and even triple checks to make sure that doesn't happen again.

The producer gathered his things, tucked the flash drive into his pocket and started towards the company head, Bang Sihyuk's office. He walked into the man's office, located at the top of the company building and tossed the drive onto his desk.

"I finished, with plenty of time to spare, just like I promised." The man sat back in his chair with raised eyebrows. "I'm taking off for the rest of the week." The man blinked back at him and shook his head in disbelief.

"I'll give this a listen, then contact you with updates." Sihyuk held the drive up in his hand and placed it on top of his laptop. He folded his hands together and looked back at the producer. "I'll see you next week Min Yoongi. Again, I'm sorry about this. Normally I'd give you more time, but these kids have been planned to debut for-"

"It's fine I get it. Just-... don't do it again. _I_ won't do this again." The man nodded. "Alright. I'll see you." Yoongi waved and started back towards the elevator. Thankfully it was empty.

He was standing peacefully by himself for at least 5 floors when someone else walked in. Yoongi looked down at his phone and began to scroll through instagram to avoid eye contact with whoever it was. Anyone who knew Yoongi also knew that the producer hated being on social media. He hated how people could lose themselves performing such meaningless tasks for the benefit of no one. He had the app signed into Seokjin's account so he wouldn't have to make one.

A familiar bell like giggle sounded next to the producer. His brows scrunched up together, but he kept looking down at his phone.

 _They look happy._ He thought. _I want that._ The producer sighed and continued to scroll past the picture of Jin and his boyfriend.

Selfies of Jin and his boyfriend took up the vast majority of the leader's newer posts. If they weren't basic couple pictures; the couple holding hands, pictures of their hands, laughing, etc. they were of Yoongi and him or his dinner. 

"Yoongi-hyung, you there?" Yoongi looked up and around to find the person who had gotten on the elevator with him. The producer felt his throat close up and he suddenly couldn’t remember how to speak. Before him stood one of the company’s most talented artists, Park Jimin. Not only is he talented, but Jimin had the face of an angel and a heart of gold. Yoongi met the younger after signing onto the company. Jimin had still been a kid, almost nineteen, trying to become an idol. Yoongi had tripped and fallen on his face when he first saw the younger. Jimin was just as sweet then as he was now, just as attractive too if you asked Yoongi, but he’d never say that outloud. Yoongi took the role of “Hyung” a bit too seriously in an attempt to ignore his feelings. They became close friends, and remained that way.

“Jimin?” he managed after a few seconds of staring.

“I thought you hated social media."

"I do." Yoongi looked back at his phone and frowned. The man next to him let out a chime like laugh and smiled softly. Yoongi stuffed his phone back into his pocket and looked down at his feet. Yoongi had entertained the idea of asking the younger out several times, but convinced himself not to. He was a mess anyway and Jimin deserved better, probably didn’t even like guys. He never bothered to ask, thinking that the younger would figure out why he was asking. The producer kept his eyes trained on his discolored shoelaces. There was no way he would be able to look at the younger without making a fool out of himself.

“Where are you off to Hyung? I never really see you around anymore.” He looked up.

“Uh, I um… I’m going home. I uh, just finished a big project and uh, yeah. Sleep.” _Fuck._ Jimin giggled again.

“Well enjoy your time off Hyung, you deserve it. We should hang out when you come back, or maybe I can come over this weekend and we can catch up.”

"Ok." Yoongi muttered. Probably sounding more on edge than he meant to. The smile slowly slipped off of the younger's face.

"I mean if you don't want to we don't have to Yoon-" 

"No no, it's fine! I'm fine. With hanging out. I'm fine with it."

"Ok." Jimin smiled. "This is my stop." Jimin walked out onto the second floor, the dance floor, but not before waving back at Yoongi. Yoongi returned the wave as the doors closed and the elevator began its descent to the ground floor parking lot.

"Fuck."

The first thing Yoongi did when he got home was shower. Then after changing into more comfortable clothes the producer fell unceremoniously into bed to catch up on some much needed rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing really happens here, but it's supposed to be a slow story anyway so I hope you guys enjoy.


	4. Namjoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lord of destruction is here

Yoongi spent the majority of his week sleeping. When he wasn't sleeping he was eating food that Jin had basically spoon fed him. The elder came over everyday after he was done with work - sometimes earlier during his lunch break - and mothered the younger until he was full and nodding off again. They spent the time after dinner and before Yoongi went back to bed catching up - more so Yoongi listening to Jin talk since there wasn't much for Yoongi to catch Jin up on. He had been staring at his computer screen, almost unmoving for several weeks prior to now; he hadn't exactly been having the time of his life. 

It was a good distraction.

Until it wasn't.

The fourth day into Yoongi's self imposed break, the producer's mind turned against him.

Yoongi woke in a bad mood, unable to breathe properly due to a clogged nose. He had left the window open last night after smoking his first cigarette in months. He just had an itch that he needed to scratch. So he did. He smoked a cigarette until the very end and took out another. He held the second cigarette between his lips with the lighter up against it and paused. He didn't even know why he was smoking.

 _Jin would be disappointed in you_. His traitorous mind shouted into the void and suddenly everything became clear, and Yoongi knew.

Jin must have felt obligated to take care of Yoongi because he was older, because that's what Hyung's do. That could be the only explanation for Jin's behavior. He would be pissed if he knew that Yoongi was smoking again.

Yoongi sat up in his bed and wiped his nose. He wanted to smoke that second cigarette from last night, but the need to relieve himself and blow his nose was stronger.

After taking care of his morning essentials - which included, using the bathroom, washing his face and taking his pills - Yoongi walked into the kitchen to start boiling some water for tea. Jin had banned the younger from drinking tea while he was on break. _"No more coffee until you come back to work. And that doesn't mean come back early just so you can drink it. That stuff will kill you Yoongs, you need to detox."_ Jin had said one night while they were discussing morning routines. Remembering his hyung sent Yoongi back into his previous emotional dilemma. 

_I'm too dependent on him. He must be tired of looking after me._

The producer sat down on his couch with a toast and a mug of green tea. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry and figured that bread and tea would suffice. On mornings when he managed to wake up early enough to have and call it breakfast, Yoongi would follow the same routine; eat breakfast, which normally included toast and tea, then sit on the couch and brainstorm lyrics into his black faux leather notebook. The first was hard to mess up honestly, but the second was always fruitless. Over the span of the producer's break he was unable to write a single lyric. Not even a word. Everything sounded either too generic or cliche for Yoongi. Nothing seemed to match the same quality that he was used to creating. Yoongi threw his notebook down onto the coffee table in frustration and ran a hand down his face.

Before the producer could continue his self deprecating conversation with himself there was a knock at the door. Yoongi moved to see who was at the door, but as he got to his feet the door swung open.

"Yoongi-yah!! Your savior hyung is here! I brought Joonie too, he didn't have work today." Jin's boyfriend of six years, Kim Namjoon, stumbled in after the elder.

He was a tall lanky guy with a dimpled smile. If you asked Yoongi he'd say he was 70% legs 30% brain which unfortunately left no room for balance. The guy was smart as hell with an IQ of 148, but couldn't stop himself from constantly falling onto or into things and had a record for most things broken in the least amount of time which is why Yoongi had banned him from entering the Genius Lab. The two were supposed to meet and get coffee a few years ago. Namjoon had walked into Yoongi's studio while the elder was in the bathroom. He was amazed by the set up and the different devices and reached out to touch Yoongi's monitor. The monitor tipped over and fell face down on the floor yanking out the plugs to Yoongi's computer and piano. The keyboard fell off of it's stand and fell to the ground. The plastic bits were cracked and a key flew off. Yoongi walked back into his studio after the chaos had ended. The following day he had a second lock installed. The next week there was a brand new keyboard in front of his studio with a sticky note on it. 

_"Sorry for breaking your piano Hyung. I asked Jin to bring it in for me so I wouldn't break it. Can we try getting coffee again tomorrow? :("_

Yoongi kept the note attached to the right speaker of the keyboard.

Jin marched into the living room and dumped his bags - including Namjoon - onto the armchair.

"Yoongi-yah! Joonie and I were going to have lunch, but we wanted to eat with you too so we drove down here. You don't live far from the company building anyway so it was no problem." Jin pushed up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen, he flitted around the kitchen with practiced ease and got to work on whatever he had planned.

Yoongi pushed himself into the couch, wishing the cushions could consume him for just a moment. He watched Namjoon right himself onto the armchair and set their bags down beside him. He straightened his glasses and clasped his hands together on top of his lap. He sent Yoongi a warm smile and sat silently until. He opened his mouth to speak after a few minutes, but that was when Jin came barreling back into the living room.

"Yah! Yoongi! I have to go back to work, one of the trainees is having a panic attack."

"Don't they have people for that?" Yoongi grumbled.

"Don't be an ass Yoongi." Yoongi shrunk back into the couch and frowned. "You know better than I do, how much more qualified I am than those posers."

"Jin-Hyung they're _professional_ -"

"Yah! Namjoon be quiet. I might as well be a professional." Yoongi's frown intensified. _What could Jin have meant by that?_ "I'm going to go back to work. You two can eat together and then I want you to get some rest." He pointed at Yoongi. Jin had gathered his things and was out of the door before Yoongi could even open his mouth to protest.

"You didn't have to come Joon-ah." Yoongi mumbled after a few minutes of suddenly tense silence.

The younger waved him off. "I wanted to be here. Jin-hyung is right, we haven't hung out in a while." He said with a smile, dimples fully on display.

"Staying at my house isn't exactly hanging out."

"And why not? I mean. We don't _have_ to stay here. If you would prefer we go out somewhere, then I have no problem with that. In fact! I may have some places in mind that we could go to. There was this nice garden I saw in a pamphlet somewhere hold on." Namjoon pulled out his phone and started to swipe and search. As he typed he went off on a tangent about plants and the benefits that they have for a person's health. Yoongi was only half listening, preferring to focus on being swallowed by the couch. 

Namjoon was talking for a good thirty minutes before he lifted his face with a pinched expression. "Hey Hyung do you smell that?"

Yoongi blinked back out of his haze and sniffed the air. He scowled. Something smelled like it was burning. Namjoon stood up, but Yoongi waved him off and went to check the kitchen. He couldn't risk Namjoon accidently burning his apartment down no matter how much he hated it. It was too big, too lonely.

Sure enough he found the stove was still on with a pot of… something. Whatever was in the pot was black, burned beyond repair. Yoongi grimaced at the sight and turned the stove off just as the fire alarm went on. Jin _never_ left the stove on without telling someone. Yoongi had actually forgotten that Jin was fiddling with his kitchen. He should have known that the elder might have had the stove on. In an attempt to put the pot in the sink he grabbed the pot by the handle and instantly regretted it.

"Fucking fuck!" He yelled and dropped the pot in the sink next to the stove. Searing pain was all the producer felt. It was like he had taken a chance at grabbing fire itself. His hand was already a bright red. "Fuck." He quickly pushed his hand under the cold water and stood there counting to calm himself down. He sighed when he saw Namjoon peeking around the corner in his peripherals. He turned to look at the younger man with his hand still under the water.

"You okay Hyung?"

"Yeah. Just uh. Grabbed the handle."

"Oh… I'm sorry Hyung." Namjoon seemed to shrink in on himself. 

"'S not your fault." Yoongi murmured. "Maybe it would be better if we went out… we could go to whatever the hell place you were looking at earlier." He said while rubbing the back of his neck with his good hand. Namjoon's face lit up at that.

"Really?!" 

"Yeah yeah. Just let me get something for this, then we can go." Yoongi gestured to his burned hand and walked into the bathroom after turning off the sink. He reached into the cabinet for his first aid kit and noticed Namjoon standing in the doorway.

"Do you want some help Hyung?" He asked. He was giving that look and Yoongi could really tell that he wanted to help. Yoongi handed the ointment to the younger and leaned against the sink. The younger took the ointment and held Yoongi's hand with a gentleness you wouldn't expect from the disaster he was.

"Aish, don't break my hand Joon-ah." Namjoon's eyes widened. His grip, if it were possible, loosened even more.

"I'm sorry Hyung!" Yoongi smirked and shook his head.

"I'm kidding." Namjoon frowned and continued to tend to the elders hand with caution.

"All done." His smile returned when he was finished bandaging Yoongi's hand. He looked to be proud of himself. Yoongi nodded at Namjoon's work, surprised that he had done such a good job.

Namjoon ended up driving them to the Seoul Iris Garden. Yoongi wanted to joke about the younger crashing, but he kept quiet so he wouldn't distract him. One look away from the road and they were done for.

It was exactly what you thought it was; a garden full of Irises. The park is surrounded by wetlands with pathways and wooden bridges. From the little summary Namjoon gave while driving, Yoongi knew that there were dozens of species. Yoongi didn't know much about irises, or plants in general. He just knew that they came in an ass ton of different colors. He knew that the vast majority of the irises were shades of blue and purple, but that there were some white, yellow, red and even black irises as well. 

Namjoon walked with a skip in his step and that dimpled smile on full display. He would kneel down every few steps to talk to the flowers and would gently pet at the petals. He spoke about how this was the perfect time of year to see the garden and that he missed his little flowery friends. Yoongi rolled his eyes at that part.

"Yoongi Hyung! Look look!" Namjoon was jumping around excitedly while pointing at a cluster of flowers with white and purple petals. The cluster was closer to the edge of the path, by a small man made creek that led to a pond. Yoongi walked up to stand next to Namjoon. "These are called _Iris ensata_ or the Japanese water iris. This one is my favorite." He crouched down in front of the cluster with his hands on his knees. He looked down at the blooms with awe, something Yoongi couldn't quite grasp. They were just flowers after all. Namjoon stayed crouched in front of the Ensata rambling about how they were babies right now and they would be taller than Yoongi in a few weeks. Yoongi frowned and let the information sink in.

"What?" Yoongi looked down at the younger man with an astounded expression. Namjoon snickered.

"The Japanese water iris can grow up to 120 centimeters." He said and quickly got to his feet in an attempt to dodge a smack to the back of the head.

"Yah! I'm 174 cm. I am _not_ 120-" He opted to chase the younger instead of trying to reason with him. Namjoon cackled as he ran past a couple and onto the boardwalk. The producer would have thrown a shoe at the younger if he wasn't worried that it would end up in the pond.

Yoongi chased Namjoon until the younger hid behind the big tree that stood at the edge of the boardwalk in the center of the pond.

"Truce! Truce!" He yelped when Yoongi tried to grab at his shirt. In a desperate attempt to get away, Namjoon smacked Yoongi's hand away and made a run for the boardwalk. He ran for a few feet before looking back to see if Yoongi was still chasing him, but when he saw that he wasn't he promptly tumbled into a group of people. All three people were on the ground in seconds. Yoongi ran up to the group, brows knit together with worry.

"Ah! I think I broke my ass." He heard from one.

"On my _knee_ so get the fuck up already." The other whined.

Yoongi hurried to help Namjoon up and then the two strangers whom he noticed weren't strangers at all, or at least one of them wasn't. He wasn't too sure who the pink haired one was. His hair reminded Yoongi of Salmon. His heart skipped a beat as he grabbed onto the raveonettes small hand and pulled him to his feet. They made eye contact and Yoongi froze. Jimin smiled; that same blinding smile that had kept the producers heart captive for nearly 6 years. He only turned away when he heard someone clear their throat.

"Sorry didn't mean to interrupt your moment, but I'd like some help up." The pink haired man demanded holding his hand up. Jimin rolled his eyes and helped the other up. Yoongi shuffled awkwardly as the two began to argue over who was supposed to help the taller up. He became acutely aware of the box of cigarettes that he stuffed into his pocket before leaving the apartment with Namjoon. The itching started, but he was in a park. Smoking wasn't allowed. 

"Yoongi-Hyung! This is Taehyung. He was hired by BigHit to be one of the main makeup artists. He's an amazing artist." The taller one, Taehyung, seemed to brighten up at the praise, but still smiled bashfully and looked down at his feet.

"I'm not that good Hyung."

"Nonsense," Jimin tsked and turned to whisper to Yoongi shielding his mouth from the younger. "He's even better than Gyeong Hui-Noona." Yoongi nodded. He wanted to be impressed, but he'd need to see it to believe it. Kang Gyeong Hui had been their best makeup artist since the beginning. Yoongi had never seen anyone better than her.

"Do you guys wanna come with us to get lunch?" Namjoon asked. Yoongi looked back at the younger with wide pleading eyes. He didn't think that he could handle five more minutes with Jimin.

"Of course!" 

"I guess I'll go along. You'll have to pay though since you nearly broke my legs." Jimin smacked the artist.

"Yah! It wasn't that bad, quit whining."

"You landed on _me_!" 

"Aish! This kid." Jimin huffed and started walking to leave the park with Taehyung. Namjoon turned to Yoongi.

"This is okay right? That I invited them?" He asked with a concerned look. Yoongi cleared his throat and looked down at the ground.

" _Yeah_ ," His voice cracked and cleared his throat again. "Yeah it's fine."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable Hyung."

"No no. It's fine. Let's go, I'm hungry." Yoongi waved him off and started towards the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Map of the Soul: 7 is fire no one can convince me otherwise.
> 
> We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal is probably my fav, I've had that on loop all week.
> 
> Please let me know how you liked this chapter!


	5. Taehyung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the Rap line's number 1 fan, Kim Taehyung.

The group decided to get some kimbap and an order of tteokbokki from a nearby street vendor. Jimin and his friend, Taehyung, were talking loudly about their favorite anime while Namjoon went to order. They only went silent when Jimin went to help Namjoon carry the food. Taehyung stayed back with Yoongi on the sidewalk, a good distance away from the vendor.

"So you're the famous Yoongi-Hyung?" The pink...ish haired man asked. It felt more like a statement than a question so the elder resorted to grunting in response. "Jimin-hyung talks about you a lot." Yoongi felt his heart skip a beat. He looked over at the artist.

"He does?" He asked trying not to get his hopes up too soon. Taehyung clicked his tongue and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Well he talks about all of his famous hyungs a lot." He mumbled, and Yoongi felt his shoulders sag. Of course he does. "I heard you're from Daegu." Yoongi nods and the boy's eyes light up.

"So it is true! Oh I miss home so much sometimes. I'm from Daegu too! Well more of the country part, but I've been to the inner city a few times." Taehyung seems unable to contain his excitement before suddenly going serious. "I've seen… _the underground_." Yoongi snorts at the way the artist whispered those words like it were a secret no one but Daegu born people would know about.

"I wasn't old enough to see you though. I was probably 10 when you were still in the underground." He says with a pout, suddenly growing glum. "But this is so much better. I get to work with Gloss-ssi!" Yoongi winced at the name. A ghost from his past, haunting him to this day. He really needed to get a new name. It took a few more minutes of listening to the artist rant to adjust to the boy's wild personality. He was like a tornado of emotion, unable to stay upset for too long, but the producer found it endearing. Taehyung used so much expression that he couldn't help but feel like he had experienced the artist's past as well.

Namjoon and Jimin came back with their food and suggested they walk down to the Han River to relax after eating. Yoongi agreed and they were off. 

Taehyung walked next to the producer holding a container of kimbap in his hands. He decided to tell the elder all about his life in Daegu. As he did, he would stuff a roll in his mouth every few minutes, but wouldn't stop talking. Yoongi had given up telling the younger not to talk while eating. He would stop to chew, but once he took another role he repeated the cycle. 

On the way to the river, Yoongi learned that Taehyung had lived with his grandmother since he was four. His parents had gotten into a tragic accident and passed away. He loved strawberries so much as a kid that his grandmother filled their entire backyard with bushes of the sweet fruit. It was his own private strawberry farm. Taehyung had admitted shyly that he had always wanted to be a farmer, but he liked to paint just a tad bit more. He sold his strawberries as a kid up until he graduated from high school and had enough money saved to go to college. For a little while at least. He wasn't planning on starting a career in cosmetology, it was only a side job that he was using to get a bit of extra money for his art projects, but a certain dancer was blown away by the artist's skill and offered him a job.

"The pay was good! Better than good. I couldn't refuse something like that." He had said. "But Jimin-Hyung and the other Noonas that I work with have been very kind. I don't regret the change."

"Do you still paint?"

"I don't really have time anymore… I still sketch or take photos occasionally though. I'll go back to college to finish up soon." Yoongi nodded and picked a roll of kimbap from the tray in Taehyung's hands. They walk silently behind Namjoon and Jimin for a while. Taehyung breaks the silence.

"Do you miss Daegu, Yoongi-hyung?" Yoongi didn't even bother correcting the younger's honorifics. He felt that if he did, the younger wouldn't listen, but that was okay. He was okay with being Taehyung's Hyung.

He thought about Taehyung's question with furrowed brows and a pout. It had been a long time since he went back to Daegu. It hadn't felt like a home during his last few years living there and once he left he never looked back. Not until now at least. He admits that he misses the country, the busy streets of Seoul could be exhausting at times, but he also missed the city where he started his underground career; his rap trio, Bangtan and his best friend Jung Hoseok who was an important part of that group. Hoseok was busy finishing out his two-year service. The producer made a mental note to write to him.

"Not really." He says and kicks a rock down the sidewalk. Taehyung gives him a look and opens his mouth to speak, but shuts it. Yoongi is grateful that the younger doesn't pry.

Once they made it to the river they had finished the kimbap and most of the tteokbokki. They settled on a hill with a tree that kept most of the sun away. Yoongi sat with his legs stretched out and his back against the old oak tree and sighed in relief. His feet were killing him.

Taehyung skipped towards Jimin with a grin on his face. They looked to be having a decent conversation when Jimin smacked the younger's shoulder and then they were off. Taehyung ran down the hill and around the open space, teasing Jimin about something. Namjoon sat cross-legged on Yoongi's right, eating leftover pieces of the tteokbokki with his chopsticks that Jin insisted he keep with him.

It was a good day, but after about an hour being unoccupied by conversation Yoongi slowly started to remember the itching feeling he felt last night and partly this morning before he took his pills, suddenly couldn't fight the urge to bring that cigarette up to his lips and fish his lighter from his pocket. He was so overwhelmed, but he wasn't in the right mind to even think of why. He stood up and walked a distance from the group, thankful that the wind was blowing away from them. It took him five tries to turn the lighter on and three times to get the right sound. Once it was lit, Yoongi took a long drag and held in before exhaling slowly through his mouth. He could feel his shoulders droop slightly, releasing tension.

The producer briefly considered going back to work the following day. He didn't have any distractions at home. It was just him, his TV and his meds. Being by himself with nothing to do was not good for his health. Jin would argue that being locked up in his studio wasn't either, but being in his studio was different. He didn't feel so worthless, so helplessly sad and alone. Being at work and doing what he loved, the only thing he was any good at, was the best feeling in the world to the producer. It was all he knew. The producer struggled to be happy when he wasn't being distracted by his friends. After all these years you would think he'd have a better handle over that voice in his head confirming all of his doubts and feeding him lies. 

He glanced over at where he last saw Jimin and Taehyung running and frowned when he saw they weren't there anymore. He looked to where he left Namjoon and saw them all laying next to each other. Jimin and Taehyung were chatting wildly, their moving hands were proof of what Yoongi could not hear. Namjoon however was sitting up against the tree and had his eyes trained on Yoongi. He could tell that the younger's brows were knit together with worry even if he couldn't see his face clearly. The producer broke eye contact and looked back to the river. Once finished he walked down the hill to the sidewalk where he snuffed out the butt and put it into his pocket. Yoongi usually smoked when he was at home or outside of a café so he always had an ashtray or a trash can nearby. He also didn't need to give Namjoon another reason to be on his ass.

He took in a deep breath and started back towards Namjoon and the others. When he made it back to the tree the group had gone quiet. It made Yoongi shift uncomfortably even though he felt quite relaxed.

Namjoon, as expected, was the first to speak. "You know that's not good for you."

Jimin frowned and looked up at Namjoon. "I'm sure he knows that Hyung…" he turned to Yoongi with a pinched expression, but didn't say anything else. Namjoon sighed and checked his phone.

"How long do I have?" The younger raised an eyebrow.

"Until…?"

"Until you tell Jin-hyung." Namjoon bit his lip and looked down.

"I uh… already told him." The producer's shoulders fell and he felt a knot forming in his stomach. He would have probably gone pale if he wasn't already used to this. Jimin gaped at Namjoon. He looked about ready to tell him off, but didn't. It didn't surprise Yoongi though. Jimin was like this with just about everyone knew. He was as passionate in tending to his relationships with people as he was with dance and maybe Yoongi wanted him all to himself, but he'd never tell a soul, not now, not ever.

Jimin got to his feet with a huff and shot a look towards Namjoon who ducked down at his phone.

"Let's go for a walk, Hyung," He whispered and looked over his shoulder at his friend. "You wanna come Tae?" The artist got up and jogged up to the sidewalk. Jimin led Yoongi, by his elbow, along the sidewalk. When they were a good distance away from where Namjoon had been he linked their arms together. Taehyung was a meter or two ahead of them.

Yoongi's body was on autopilot. His mind was still trying to recover from the younger grabbing his elbow. Now he had to process the seemingly intimate gesture of their linked arms. He was fighting the urge to push away from the younger. He didn't want Jimin to think that he was uncomfortable with their proximity or the contact because he wasn't, but if it were any other person it would be different. He could feel how tense he had become and he was trying to calm himself down without Jimin noticing.

"-oongi?" _Oh shit he's talking to you! Say something!_ He stopped automatically when Jimin did. The only thing he managed was a garbled mess that made him sound like he was being strangled. Nice going. He tried again.

"Huh?" He pushed out. _Good enough_.

"You wanna talk about what's on your mind?" Yoongi grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh… not really. No. Maybe some other time." The younger man pouted, but nodded anyway. He gasped suddenly.

"I got an idea." Yoongi didn't like the sound of that. "Come on, you need to destress." He said and pulled Yoongi towards the main road by his wrist.

They ended up in a hair salon. Taehyung squealed upon entering the building. He walked up to the girls at the desk and greeted them with a wide boxy smile.  
"Ah I missed you two!" 

"TaeTae-Oppa!" They squealed with him. He told the girls that he and his friends needed to get their hair dyed and styled. Taehyung waved Jimin and Yoongi off saying that they can sit while they wait for a few minutes. The artist went to help the girls finish up with their last few customers.

Yoongi sat down on one of the blue plastic seats and stilled when Jimin took a seat next to him.

"I always wanted to dye my hair pink." Jimin whispered, casually leaning into Yoongi's space.

"I think you'd look good with pink." Yoongi was surprised that his voice didn't crack.

"Thank you hyung." Jimin smiled. "Have you thought about what color you're gonna get this time?" He asked and ran a hand through Yoongi's messy hair. The elder felt the need to shrink away from his touch. His hair was awful. It probably still felt gross, but Jimin didn't seem to bothered so he let the younger be.

"I think I'll just go back to black." He said scratching behind his ear. Jimin nodded with a thoughtful look. It made Yoongi nervous. _Does he not like my natural hair?_ Yoongi was about to change his mind when their names were called.

Yoongi took a seat cautiously, unlike Jimin who hoped into the chair with a bright smile. He always seemed so happy.

The producer did his best to relax, but the effects of his cigarette were wearing off and he couldn't say that his medication was working the way it was supposed to. He had a feeling that it might have something to do with the cigarette. Which pills had he taken this morning?

The hair stylist took their time washing his hair. Even though it was probably protocol to wash someone's hair as many times as they do, it still made Yoongi feel self-conscious. _Was it really that bad?_ He thought. He wasn't used to getting his hair professionally done. When he was a teenager he did it himself.

After joining BigHit, he could confidently say that the stylists did his hair at least five times before he stepped off of the stage.

Nowadays he usually asked Jin to do his hair, but he wouldn't deny that this stylist seemed to take better care than Jin. She gently massaged his scalp trying to be as thorough as possible with his roots before starting the bleaching process. She made small talk and would occasionally compliment his features or the softness of his hair. Which he didn't actually believe to be true, but he said thank you anyway. The producer would occasionally glance over at Jimin who was happily chatting with another hair stylist. His eyes crinkled up when he laughed and he held a hand up to his face trying to cover his mouth. Yoongi briefly wished that he could make the younger smile like that.

The producer must have fallen asleep at some point because when he opened his eyes again, he was being shaken awake. His hair stylist giggled.

"Min Yoongi-ssi, I'm all done." She chirped, "Do you want to take a look now?" He gave her a nod and she held up a mirror that she was hiding behind her back. She looked excited. His hair looked the same as when Jin cut his hair maybe a bit more clean, but he knew the girl was expecting a grand reaction so he did the best he could. She blushed at the compliment, holding a hand to her cheek. 

"You're very handsome." She said, Yoongi didn't think so at all.

"Ah, thank you. You're too kind." He laughed nervously when she started to poke his nose.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." She giggled and Yoongi wanted to run. He shied away from her and got off of the chair saying thank you one more time.

Yoongi scurried towards the front desk where Jimin and Taehyung were waiting. When he saw the younger he felt like he couldn't breathe all over again. Jimin looked _adorable_ with pink hair.

"What do you think Hyung?" He asked with a shy smile.

"Aish. Jimin-Hyung I already told you that you looked good." Taehyung groaned. The artist had gotten a haircut and was sporting a light brown hair color. Jimin puffed out his cheeks and smacked the younger's shoulder.

"Yah! I wasn't asking you." He marched out of the salon with a frown. Taehyung chuckled and followed after Yoongi.

It was dark out by the time they had made it out of the salon. Jimin was still stomping ahead of Yoongi and Taehyung.

"The girl who did your hair, Ji-Noona. She tried to take a picture of you while you were asleep." Taehyung whispered. Yoongi grimaced and felt a shiver rack through his body. "I got rid of it though. I made sure there weren't any backups either."

"Thank you Taehyung-ah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :D
> 
> I love to hear your thoughts.


	6. D-Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoongi goes back to work and reflects on his past.

Yoongi had cut his break short and walked into BigHit the next day. He couldn't stand another day alone in his apartment. One more day alone and he would have smoked the rest of that pack of cigarettes or some weed Jin didn't know about. He would have picked up every bad habit he had worked so hard to quit.

As soon as he walked out of the elevator he was met with Seokjin's broad figure. The elder was standing in front of the elevator with his hands on his hips.

"What are you doing here?" His frown intensified when Yoongi shrugged and walked around the elder. "Yah! Yoongi." Yoongi walked down the hall and to his studio as the elder yelled after him.

"Min Yoongi. You should be at home." Yoongi frowned and mumbled a _'Don't wanna be at home'_ and started the tedious process of unlocking his door.

"Yoongi-" The producer pushed the door open and closed it with just as much force. It shut a bit harder than intended and the producer winced at the harshness of it. He locked the deadbolt and sighed. He slipped his leather jacket off of his shoulders and let it hit the ground with a thud. His keys, that were in his jacket pocket, jingled upon impact.

He made his way to his computer and sat down in his chair. He rested his head against it and closed his eyes. He would have to apologize to Jin and probably talk to him about the day before as well. He didn't want things to get blown out of proportion. He was feeling okay. Better than he had in a long time, yesterday was just a bump in the road.

The producer dug his palms into his eyes and took a deep breath. He could do this. _It's just a bump in the road_ , he thought and started up his computer.

The desktop lit up. A little jingle played just before the black and blue screen opened to his crowded desktop. Tons of folders and bookmarks littered the expanse of the screen and flashed as the desktop finished starting up. There was a lot of shit just… there, but it was organized chaos and that's all that mattered to the producer.

He opened the tribase application and opened a new file. Yoongi sat with his hand hovering over the mouse for what seemed like an hour, not even a ghost of a sound passed through his head. He slammed his fist on the desk beside the mouse and closed the app.

Yoongi sighed heavily and double clicked on a folder in the top left corner labeled "D-Town". The folder opened up, displaying a few dozen photos of Yoongi and his rap trio. The three of them had posed for a group photo. Yoongi stood in the middle with Hoseok on his left and Shin Donghyuk on his right. Yoongi was wearing a black beanie and a black Jersey with black shorts and shoes. Hoseok had spiked his black hair and wore similar clothes to Yoongi. Donghyuk was wearing a plain black shirt, black shorts with leggings underneath and shoes. They had all worn an unimpressive amount of eyeliner. They were inexperienced with applying makeup, so they did their best. It looked awful.

_Yoongi was late to their first stage. He rushed through the crowds adjusting his beanie, making sure that it didn't fly off as he ran. He refused to pull the hat down over his forehead so he kept a hand on it to secure it. He had been early before he realized he didn't have enough money on him to get a bus ticket so he had to run back home and grab a few more won. He had picked his thumbs raw while waiting for the bus to get to his destination._

_He was already sweating by the time he made it backstage. Hoseok and Donghyuk were waiting by the stairs that led to the stage with worried faces. Donghyuk was arguing with one of the burly looking staff members about how they couldn't go on without their third member._

_"Well he's got one more minute. You either go on without him or go home." Hoseok's face lit up once he made eye contact with Yoongi._

_"Look! Look! He's here! He's here!" He shouted waving Yoongi over. "Yoongi-hyung!" Yoongi jogged over and started apologizing to his friends. Donghyuk waved him off._

_"It's fine. You're here now." Hoseok threw himself at the elder while trying not to cry._

_"I thought something bad happened to you! You're never late!" Yoongi only responded when Hoseok pulled away._

_"I'm sorry Seok-ah, bus trouble." He nodded his head in understanding._

_"Ah, okay. At least your makeup didn't smudge or anything." Hoseok laughed in that contagious way of his while poking next to Yoongi's eye. "I had to redo mine four times."_

_The staff member barked at them to get on stage cutting their reunion short. Yoongi barely had enough time to realize what was going on. Once he was on the stage in front of the 200 or so people who crowded the warehouse space, the nerves hit. His heart dropped to his stomach and his lungs seized up. The three of them stood in the center of the stage awkwardly waiting for their name to be announced._

_"Introducing three newbies to the stage! Show some love to Bangtan!" An air horn went off somewhere to the side and their first track started to play. Hoseok was first. He almost forgot to come in after the intro and stumbled over the first few words, his voice shaking. Donghyuk was the first to snap out of his daze. He started doing ad-libs and would occasionally hype Hoseok up. In the next few seconds they were both jumping around._

_Donghyuk's verse was next. Yoongi and Hoseok took over the ad-libs and Yoongi felt the fear and nerves drain from his body. The crowd was cheering and pumping their fists in time with the rap. By the time the chorus came back after Donghyuk's verse the crowd was singing along with them. They may not be experienced performers, but they made damn good music._

_When Yoongi started his verse, he knew that he would never feel anything like this again. He had never felt so free while on a stage._

_He remembers practicing his rap style for hours everyday after school. He practiced so much that his parents would bang on his door and yell at him to go to sleep. They didn't approve of course, they didn't think that he would make it big as a rapper let alone a producer. "Why don't you do something more practical, like architecture? You like that right?" Was something they said often. Yoongi poured his very soul into his music, he couldn't quite grasp how his parents didn't see that. He stayed up all night and day scribbling lyrics and rhythms into his notebook. Writing and rewriting. He had taught himself how to play the piano by staying after school everyday to use the school's piano since his parents couldn't afford one and private lessons were far too expensive. He loved music and he loved writing it._

_Yoongi finished his verse with a growl and the song was over. The crowd erupted into a fit of screams and applause. They whooped and hollered louder than Yoongi had ever heard. The crowds in the D-Town underground had an unspoken voting system. The louder the crowd, the better the performance was. Groups that received a quieter response are asked to leave. The announcer ran up to the stage with a mic of his own._

_"Give it up for Bangtan!" The crowd cheered. Yoongi's eyes started to sting with tears. Hoseok and Donghyuk gathered around into a group hug. Once they parted they jogged off of the stage so the stage crew could prepare for the next performer._

_Yoongi held his friends close with his arms hanging over each of their shoulders as he came down from his adrenaline high. They were all panting and sweating like they had run a marathon. Hoseok dug his phone out of his back pocket._

_"Let's take a picture!" He said and held up his phone with the camera in selfie mode. They all smiled and threw up peace signs. "1, 2, 3!" He snapped the picture and immediately clicked to see how it turned out._

_"Ah! I like this one. I'll email it to you guys." He chirped and they walked back into the crowd to watch the rest of the performances._

Yoongi scrolled down the line. Many of the photos were selfies of the trio after a stage. Hoseok had gotten into the habit of taking a picture after every stage. The next photo the producer stopped on was just of Yoongi and Hoseok.

_Hoseok shoved his phone into his pocket, frowning. It was rare to see him with any other expression on his face than a frown, or mild panic. His nickname in middle school was sunshine for a reason._

_"What's wrong Seok-ah?"_

_"Donghyuk's still sick. He said he won't be able to go on with us." That was a problem… Yoongi pursed his lips and his brows knit together._

_"What should we do?"_

_"I mean," Hoseok scratched his head. "We could go up anyway… it won't be the same without Donghyuk though… they might not have the same reaction as they usually do when it's all three of us."_

_"We could just do solos. We have at least two each by now."_

_"Oh you're right!" He was smiling again and Yoongi let his shoulders relax. Any version of Hoseok that wasn't happy made him nervous. "You're so smart Yoongi-hyung."_

_"'M not." The elder grumbled and pulled his hood over his head. They were both still wearing black, but they decided to be a bit more casual. 'To look like real rappers' is what Hoseok said. Yoongi walked over to the stage crew and informed them that they would have a change of plans. He gave them the flash drive with their songs and copied the solo track files on to their computer before taking it back and tucking it into his pocket._

_They were ushered onto the stage a good twenty minutes later._

_They performed their solos and were getting ready to step off of the stage when the crowd started to chant one of their song titles. Yoongi, high on adrenaline and still in character yelled out into the crowd._

_"You want more?!" The crowd went wild. The DJ seemed to be on the same page as them and started the song that the crowd they had been chanting. When it came to Donghyuk's verse they rapped together. The crowd went wild, cheering louder than they ever had for their little trio._

_When they got off of the stage with smiles on their faces they were stopped by Donghyuk. He had a mask on, but you could tell that he was frowning due to the pinch of his brows._

_"Hey Donghyuk-hyung." Hoseok said, handing his microphone to one of the stage crew members._

_"You guys weren't supposed to perform without me."_

_"But- we said we were gonna-"_

_"I never said you could go on without me." Hoseok recoiled into himself._

_"We were just doing solos…" Hoseok whimpered._

_"Yeah, but then you performed our song without me." Yoongi reached a hand out to Donghyuk's shoulder. He was getting too close to Hoseok and the other looked like he was about to cry._

_"Relax Donghyuk-"_

_"Get the fuck off me!" Donghyuk smacked the elder's hand away. "This is all your fault!" He spat and stabbed an accusing finger into Yoongi's chest._

_"You're right, I shouldn't have done that. It won't happen again, but you really need to calm down."_

_"They won't give a fuck about me now that they know what our song sounds like without me. What am I gonna do now?!" He shoved Yoongi back. Hoseok yelped._

_"Calm the fuck down Donghyuk." Yoongi said through his teeth. He clenched his fists at his sides and kept his feet planted. He didn't want to fight the other, they were friends. "It won't happen again so calm your fucking shit."_

_"You're damn right it won't happen again" Donghyuk barked and stalked away._

_Yoongi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He understood why Donghyuk was upset, but he didn't have to get so aggressive. If it had escalated they would have gotten hurt, or banned from the stage. Fights happened normally in the pit, but backstage fights or fights between the performers were frowned upon. He turned to Hoseok, a few tears had slipped down his face leaving trails on his cheeks. Yoongi pulled the younger into a hug and dabbed at his eyes._

_"Sorry 'bout all this Seok-ah." Hoseok tucked his face into the elder's neck and took a shaky breath._

_"'S not your fault Hyung."_

_"You wanna take a picture?" He asked when the younger pulled away, Hoseok nodded with a sniffle and pulled out his phone. Yoongi took the phone from Hoseok's shaking hands and took the picture._

The next photo was just Yoongi and Hoseok again. It had been a few months after Donghyuk had gotten sick so the other was able to perform with them, but again, he didn't want to pose in the picture. 

_Donghyuk had been on edge since he had been sick. He snapped at the other two and yelled when he didn't get his way. Yoongi had taken over Hoseok's job of mediation himself for Hoseok's sake and the sake of their group. It wasn't entirely the best idea since Yoongi always wanted to accept Donghyuk's challenges, but he kept calm._

_They ran up on to the stage in their themed outfits and started solos. Yoongi went first and kneeled by the edge of the stage to hype up the crowd and to catch his breath. He wasn't looking at anyone specific, he learned not to because the direct eye contact started his nerves. He only looked down when he heard someone calling him directly._

_"Gloss-ssi! Gloss-ssi," He heard. He looked to see a stiff looking man waving his arms in the air. He didn't look like he belonged. He wore a black button down and black slacks. He probably had black dress shoes as well, but Yoongi couldn't see that far down. He nodded his head. The man stepped forward and pulled a card out of his breast pocket. Yoongi grabbed it with his index and middle finger. He was a talent scout from a company called BigHit. Yoongi never heard of the place, but tucked the card into his back pocket._

_"We've heard your work." He yelled trying to speak over the loud music and heavy bass. "The world needs to hear your lyrics, your music. We can make it happen." Yoongi scoffed._

_"You're right. The world does need to hear me." The scout looked up at Yoongi, who was on stage, with hope in his eyes. Yoongi smirked. "But I'll do it myself. I don't need your help. You'll just turn me into one of your painted robots and censor my lyrics if you let me write 'em at all." Yoongi knew what happened to teens with dreams in this society. They wrapped themselves into a lifetime of trouble that they couldn't pull themselves out of just because they signed their name by the X. The scout frowned._

_"That's not-" Yoongi stood and brought the mic to his lips. "Wait! It's not like that. Gloss-ssi wait! Just hear me out please!" The man looked desperate and tried to reach out to Yoongi._

_"I did, and I told you I'm not interested." With that Yoongi spun on his heel and walked off towards the center of the stage. Yoongi noticed Donghyuk shoot him a glare before starting his solo._

_They walked off of the stage feeling only exhaustion. It had been a good performance, but something was off about today. Yoongi raised his hand to pat Donghyuk on the back and tell him that he did good, but he was shrugged off. Donghyuk's face was scrunched into a nasty expression. He scowled when Hoseok came over with a smile on his face._

_"Yoongi-hyung you wouldn't believe what just ha-"_

_"Shut the fuck up." Hoseok's smile vanished._

_"Oi! Donghyuk-" This time Yoongi pushed Donghyuk back. He was one shitty comment away from decking him._

_"Shut up! I'm sick of this shit! I'll never be recognized with you two around."_

_"That's not true-"_

_"Yes it is! You know it is!" He brought both hands to his head and pulled at his hair. "I can't do this shit anymore! You're both shit rappers, why are you the only one's getting praised?! I work just as hard as you do! Maybe even more!" Hoseok looked down, shame written all over his face and Yoongi had enough. He grabbed Donghyuk by his shirt and pulled him so that they were face to face. He twisted the younger's shirt in his hands so he couldn't get away easily._

_"Bullshit. You haven't done shit since you got sick. All you do is mope and complain about how you're not good enough while Hoseok and I are busting our asses. You don't get to talk shit about us when you have nothing to back up your claims, when you're not any better. Maybe there's a good reason you haven't been scouted yet." Donghyuk grabbed on to Yoongi's wrists trying to yank his hands off._

_"Lying piece of sh-" Yoongi put all of his strength into kneeing Donghyuk in the crotch. Donghyuk cried out and crumbled to the floor._

_"You want out so much? Fine. You're out. We're never performing together again. If I ever see you saying shit about us again I'll fuck you up." He spat and stormed off pulling Hoseok along with him leaving Donghyuk on the floor._

_Yoongi spent the rest of the night comforting Hoseok and drying his tears. He was trying to convince the other that he was much more talented than he thought and that him being scouted wasn't a mistake. He had earned the praise._

Yoongi scrunched up his nose at the memory of Donghyuk and his fight. He wasn't proud of it, but it had felt so good to finally get a good hit in. Even if it wasn't necessarily a fair one. He had to end it quickly before they got in trouble with the stage crew. Donghyuk had stopped all contact with them after that day and would glare when they passed each other in the hall, but would flinch when Yoongi got too close.

The last photo Yoongi stopped to look at was of him, Hoseok and Seokjin. It was their high school graduation day. He had met Seokjin the year before. The elder had played an important part in Yoongi's life. His parents had housed him for a good year before Yoongi went off to college. By this time Yoongi had accepted BigHit's offer to work under them only if he could still go to university and he could just be a producer. Hoseok had turned them down politely thinking that he wasn't good enough.

Hoseok followed Yoongi to Seoul where they studied their respective majors. Hoseok a dance major and Yoongi a music producing major. Whenever he had spare time, Yoongi was in his studio at the BigHit building. It was small and in a bit of disrepair, but it was his own space. He was able to work on his school projects there as well. Yoongi had the opportunity to produce songs for BigHits first idol group TXT. They were a group of five boys: Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Hueningkai, and Taehyun. All of them were younger than Yoongi. The eldest, Choi Yeonjun, was 19 around the time Yoongi turned 22. Their youngest member, Huening Kai was 16. They were a polite group that did just about everything he told them to do. He felt bad that their dorms were in such a bad state, but he knew that they wouldn't be worrying about that in a few years. They were dedicated, even if they only had a small fan base at the time. Since then they have grown to be the biggest K-Pop group in the world with millions of fans across all countries. 

When they graduated, Hoseok was again approached by BigHit. The company was more stable financially and offered to pay his college debt if he signed on. Hoseok thought that he was too old to start anything. He didn't want to take a younger teen's spot at fame by signing on. He immediately went to serve after graduating and said that if they still wanted him when he had finished, he said he wouldn't mind working for them as a teacher.

Yoongi scrolled down and started to listen to their old tracks. He cringed at the sound of his voice. He had poor breath control. He knew that if he had just become an idol rapper like BigHit had wanted then he would have been so much better. He had wanted to become a rapper as a kid, so bad that his parents kicked him out and he was okay with it as long as he made his dream a reality. When he had the means to do so he walked away. He wished that he hadn't been so stubborn, but he didn't regret his alternative route. He briefly thought of what Taehyung said the day before when he came to that conclusion. He was able to finish his education relatively stress free and was recognized as one of the best producers in South Korea.

Yoongi startled out of his thoughts due to his phone that had vibrated violently against his desk. He flipped the device over to see the screen. He frowned when he saw an email notification titled _'Did you forget about me?'_

He tapped on the notification.

_'Yoongi-hyung! It's me, Jung Hoseok! You haven't forgotten about me right? Just kidding. I bet you were thinking about me just now. As you should have been every day since we split. Kidding again~~_

_I'll be coming to Seoul sometime this week. I expect you to come pick me up and have a bed ready for me. Please don't take me seriously! Hahaha_

_Send me your number! I'll send you the details as soon as I find out and if you can't get me then I'll just get a cab. It's no problem.'_

Sent 3 days ago

_'Yoongi-Hyung! TvT Why haven't you answered my email?_

_I was kidding when I asked if you forgot about me, but did you??_

_I'll be in Incheon tomorrow at 15:30._

_I'm freaking out Hyung._

_You'll help me out, right? I won't stay for long. I just need a few days. I don't want to be a bother.'_

Sent yesterday.

Yoongi choked on his spit and hurried to check the time. It somehow became harder to work his phone. He dropped it twice before finding the time. 

His phone read 14:45.

There was no fucking way he'd been at work for seven hours and hadn't done jack shit. He cursed and opened his door. Jin was in front of the door with a glum expression on his face and a finger hovering over the doorbell next. He grew wide when he saw Yoongi, but he forced away the shock to speak.

"Look, Yoongi I didn't mean to-" Yoongi pushed past him and ran towards the elevator. "Yah! I was trying to-"

"Sorry Hyung, gotta- Hoseok!" He yelled hoping Seokjin caught some of that and would be able to connect the dots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment!


	7. Hoseok

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I'm actually unsure with what I'll be doing with this story. I might take a break to focus on other projects and get a good story together.

The drive down to Incheon was absolute hell.

Without traffic, it takes about an hour to drive down to the airport from the Gangnam district. With traffic, the drive would be roughly two, or at least an hour and a half. Yoongi was starting to wonder why in hell everyone had decided to drive today. The producer had never before been so angry while in traffic. He was cut off twice and got stuck on the freeway because of a crash.

At one point the producer was mere centimeters away from rolling down the window and cussing out some younger looking guy in a red truck. _Who in their right mind drives in such a way? Who the fuck drives a red truck?!_

Now Yoongi wasn't one to have road rage, he was used to waiting in traffic for long periods of time; for hours on occasion, but he was _late damnit!_ If he had seen that email sooner he would have gone down at least an hour earlier, that way he wouldn't have to worry about traffic.

Yoongi pulled up to the airport at 16:00. He jumped out of his car and ran in through the automatic doors catching a blur of green in his peripherals. It suddenly dawned on him that he might have just passed who he was looking for.

He spun on his heel, almost falling over in the process.

"Hoseok!" The producer jogged back outside looking for his friend. He made it back outside and ran a hand through his hair. _Why was there suddenly so many people outside?_ Yoongi felt the overwhelming urge to cry, or smoke, or both. Both sounded much better. He spun around one more time and caught sight of a familiar smile. The younger man was leaning into the window of a cab. He wore the traditional Korean military outfit and had a matching cap. His black hair was either short or swept back and hiding underneath the hat.

"Hoseok!" He yelled and barreled into the younger. He wasn't sure what had gotten over him. He was so much better at controlling himself than this. Yoongi sobbed when he felt the others arms wrap around his quivering shoulders.

"I'm so sorry Seok-ah, I hadn't checked my phone until like two hours ago! I fuckin hate my phone, 'n traffic's a fuckin bitch! I hate going outside, but I missed you so much. 'N now I'm fuckin crying." He was unable to stop his satoori from slipping through the cracks. He hiccuped and pressed his face into the younger's chest. 

"Aw, Hyung, it's okay! Don't cry!" Hoseok sounded like he was crying too. He tightened his grip around Yoongi. It made the elder want to cry even more.

"'M sorry for being late, 'n for not answering your email."

"It's okay, Hyung. You didn't do anything wrong. I understand you were busy."

"I wasn't though," He pulled off the younger and frowned. "I was taking the week off." He said with a grimace. Hoseok blinked down at him, his eyebrows raised in surprise, and then around at the people walking around the airport. The longer they stood around the more looks they got. It made the younger's skin crawl at how judgemental mere strangers were getting. 

"Uh... Did you drive here?"

"Yeah." Yoongi nodded in the direction of his car.

"Hey, let's go to a café or something. I feel like we could talk more easily there." Yoongi nodded and led Hoseok to his car. He drove a black honda civic sedan. It was a recent sports model, Yoongi didn't really know from what year the car was or what the difference from a regular model would be. He just liked the way it looked.

Yoongi drove to a small modern café called Cozy Coffee Cat, per Hoseok's request. The bell hanging above the door jingled when they walked in. A young looking woman drying off a mug welcomed them with a wave and a warm smile. There were couches and bean bags along the walls and six booths towards the center. Everything was colored different shades of brown or orange while the booth seats were green. They reminded Yoongi of the iced matcha green tea he saw Seokjin get from some overpriced coffee shop. The pillows sitting on top of the couches were pusheen themed. It was cute, but you wouldn't catch the elder saying it out loud. Hoseok insisted that he ordered their drinks.

"You'll just get black coffee. You need to try new things, Hyung." He couldn't help himself sometimes. He drank the stuff like it was water.

"So I've been told," he scoffed. "Besides, I _am_ trying something new. I've never been here before."

"You can pay, but I'm ordering. Besides, black coffee is the same everywhere. It doesn't matter where you go." Hoseok deadpanned.

"'t's not…" Yoongi grumbled and walked away to find somewhere to sit. He decided to sit in one of the booths located in the center of the shop and scooted along the seat until his left shoulder hit the wall. He rubbed at his right shoulder a few times before letting his hands rest on the table top. After a few minutes of waiting he started to tap his hands on the table. He pushed them into his lap when Hoseok came over with two mugs in one hand and a plate of cat shaped cookies in the other. Hoseok pushed a mug over to Yoongi. The cup was black and had little cat ears on one side. The face of the cat was frowning. _Cute._ Yoongi frowned back and Hoseok burst into laughter.

"What is this?" He asked, glaring suspiciously at the mug.

"It's a Marshmallow Creme Coffee."

Yoongi raised an eyebrow and leaned down to look a bit closer at the mug. "Which is…?" Hoseok rolled his eyes.

"It's basically coffee with an ass ton of marshmallows and whip cream on top." Yoongi grimaced and faked a gag. "Oh don't give me that. I know you have a sweet tooth, there's no fooling me Hyung."

"I don't know… this might kill me Seok-ah." The younger huffed.

"Just try it." Yoongi sighed, letting his shoulders drop and he slid down against the booth. Hoseok chuckled and pushed the mug closer to the elder. Yoongi brought the cup to his lips and took a tentative sip. It was _good_ , but instead of voicing that thought he pulled away with a scrunched nose. Hoseok smacked the elder's left shoulder.

"Yah! Don't be an ass!" Yoongi snickered and sat back in his seat with his mug in hand. The younger huffed again and stuffed a cookie into his mouth. "I just got back and you're already being mean to me." He grumbled with his mouth full. Yoongi winced. He didn't wasn't trying to be an ass. He didn't want to upset his friend.

"'M sorry." Hoseok waved him off and took a sip of his drink. He sighed happily.

"I'm just messing. Anyway! Why were you off work?"

"Oh… uh, I took off 'cause I just got finished with a really tedious project. It was a pain in the ass. I barely got any sleep while I was working on it. When I finished I just told Bang that I wouldn't be coming back in for a while. I went back to work this morning 'cause I was uh… bored." Hoseok raised an eyebrow. He probably didn't believe that excuse. Over the years it became quite easy for Hoseok and Seokjin to see through Yoongi's bullshit. They knew all his quirks. Knowing that Yoongi wasn't very expressive as a child, learning his body language was the next best thing.

"Ah. Look at you being your own boss!" Yoongi was surprised that the younger didn't try to figure out what was really going on. But knowing Hoseok, he probably already knew. Yoongi was sure that if he worked under anyone else he wouldn't have been let off work as easily as he had been. Even when he had done so much for the company.

"Did you go anywhere?" Yoongi shook his head and received another smack on the arm. "Well that's why you were bored Hyung! You need to go out when you're alone. Yeesh! Too bad I didn't make it back sooner, you could have shown me around Seoul!"

"You already know your way around Seoul, Seok-ah. We went to university here." Hoseok tsked.

"I'm sure it's changed since I've been here. It's been what, three years?."

"Seok-ah, I wasn't just sitting on my ass the entire time." Hoseok looked unimpressed. "I went to a garden with Namjoon yesterday…" 

"Oh!" His eyes widened. "Namjoon-ah? How did he convince you to go out?"

"Well uh, he just asked really. Then we uh… burned our lunch _and my hand_." The last part came out as a mumble, barely audible. 

"You what?!" 

"Namjoon ran into Jimin and knocked him and his friend over. Then we had lunch with them-"

"Wait, wait go back-"

"Seok-ah!" Yoongi whined.

"Yah! If you didn't want to talk about it then you shouldn't have brought it up. What happened to your hand?" He asked and gestured for the elder to show him. Yoongi huffed and put his injured hand on the table. It was still wrapped up. He heard the distant sound of the café's front bell jingle.

"Min Yoongi!"

" _I grabbed the handle_." He shrugged and mumbled into his mug.

"You what?!" Yoongi jumped when he saw Seokjin slam his hands on the table.

"How could you be so careless?! How are you going to play piano now?"

"Relax, Hyung. I can play just fine. How did you even find us?" Yoongi was holding a hand to his chest. His heart was racing.

"Don't tell me to relax! I leave you and Joon for one day. One day! The both of you could have set the apartment on fire, or worse, put yourselves in the hospital." Seokjin seemed to be getting ready to fight. He rocked back and forth on his heels and pointed a finger at Yoongi.

"It's not even that bad." Seokjin huffed and sat down on the edge of the seat next to Hoseok and shoved him over a bit so he could adjust himself. Hoseok squawked at the elder, looking rightfully disgusted. "How did you find me? Cause I know damn well you weren't just," he raised his fingers to make air quotes. " _'in the area'_ "

Seokjin scoffed but looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. Jin was a horrible liar, even worse than Yoongi if that were possible.

"And what if I was just _in the area_." Yoongi stared at the elder with that same blank expression. The two stared at each other until Seokjin sighed and reached for one of Hoseok's cookies. The youngest smacked his hand away. "I was tracking your phone." He answered after rubbing his hand for a few seconds. Yoongi honestly wasn't surprised, but Hoseok on the other hand stared at the other with wide eyes.

"You what?!" Hoseok screeched.

"I get worried!" Seokjin yelled while waving his arms in the air and at Yoongi as if that were an explanation. 

"Hyung, that _must_ be illegal!"

Yoongi massaged the bridge of his nose as the two continued to go back and forth. He let most of his weight rest on his elbow, grabbed his mug and started to drink. The heat rising up from the mug was making him sleepy. This place would be perfect for him to brainstorm lyrics or just relax. Even though he had to ignore the two screeching banshees in front of him, the café was still quite relaxing. He finished his drink with a content sigh and grabbed one of Hoseok's cookies. Both of his friends were too occupied with whatever they were arguing about to notice.

The producer pulled out his phone and started to scroll through his unread emails. Most of them were spam emails, but there were a few from the company. One in particular from Bang Shihyuk caught his attention.

_The Mini Album_

He tapped on the email and scrolled through it. Bang Shihyuk wrote that he heard that Hoseok was back in town and that he would like to meet with the dancer as soon as possible. He also wanted to meet with Yoongi about the mini album. He said that he wanted the producer to sit with the soon-to-be idols about which roles they would be playing in the album and to give them some basic lyric writing tips. It seemed like pretty easy work so Yoongi sent a confirmation email and put his phone down.

It was company policy that trainees and idols would be given the opportunity to write their own song lyrics - with help from the company producers until they were able to write coherent, full length songs on their own - and if they want, then their own music. It wasn't mandatory, but it gave the trainees and idols the ability to make their songs more meaningful and authentic.

Hoseok and Seokjin were still arguing, but about what at this point he wasn't sure. There was no way they were still arguing about the tracker. Yoongi finished off the rest of the cookies before standing up and calling to Hoseok. 

"Seok-ah." Hoseok looked up at him and shoved a hand over Jin's mouth. The eldest looked outraged. "Let's go." The younger stood up and climbed over Jin.

"Yah! Watch where you plant your foot!"

Yoongi waved goodbye to the eldest while he was busy dusting off his pants and walked out the front door. The two of them walked back to Yoongi's car and they drove to his apartment.

"Something up Hyung?" Hoseok asked. Yoongi shrugged and turned the car off.

"Bang Shihyuk-ssi wants to meet with you. We don't have to go now if you don't want to, but I was getting tired of Jin-hyung's yelling." The producer walked out of the car and towards the trunk to help the younger with his luggage.

"Bang Shihyuk-ssi? BigHit's CEO?" Yoongi nodded and grabbed onto Hoseok's luggage. "Hyung! I got it." Hoseok pulled the case from the trunk. "I've been doing nothing but carrying heavy stuff around for the past two years. This is nothing."

"Yah, just let me help. I'm your Hyung."

"Yeah and this is heavy so I'll do it. You can open the door." Hoseok chuckled and started walking towards the apartment building. With a defeated sigh, Yoongi followed the younger and directed him to his apartment.

After showing Hoseok to his room and around the apartment, the younger man agreed to meet Bang Shihyuk at his office the following day.

Yoongi was sitting in a recording studio, waiting for the new trainees to show up. They were scheduled to arrive for 12:30, but Yoongi couldn't help but show up earlier. He walked into the studio at 11, promptly after showing Hoseok to Bang Shihyuk's office. The producer was poking around with the settings on the mixing board. He spent most of his time cleaning up the studio. Someone had left a bag of chips on the mixing board. Yoongi lost his shit at the sight of it. Once he sat back down in front of the board he sunk into the chair and started to spin himself around. He only sat back up when he heard a knock on the door.

The door opened and a familiar trainee popped their head in the doorway.

"Hyung!" Jungkook's smile was so wide that his teeth were showing. His two front teeth were slightly larger that usual. They reinforced a distant thought Yoongi had of the younger looking like a bunny. Yoongi nodded back at the boy and gestured for him to enter the studio. He scurried in followed by three other kids. Yoongi assumed they were the trainees he was waiting for.

The four of them lined up in a row. Jungkook introduced them as BTS and they bowed on his count of three. They began to introduce themselves individually afterwards.

"My name is, Jeon Jungkook!" There was a moment's pause. Jungkook cleared his throat and elbowed the girl on his left. 

"O-oh! Now? This is- I mean, _I_! I am Chou Tzuyu." She bowed a second and third time. 

"Kim Yugyeom." The third raised his hand briefly and shoved it back into his pant pocket.

"I," the last one in line flipped her hair behind her shoulder "am Hwang Yeji." 

Yoongi let out a huff of air through his nose in a laugh like fashion. He nodded back at them. They were an odd bunch.

"I'm Min Yoongi, you all can address me as Producer-nim or Hyung." Jungkook waved excitedly at the producer from where he was standing, not once dropping that bunny smile. The tips of Yoongi's lips curved up in a soft barely there smile. He waved back before continuing. "I have a few basic ground rules. First off, there's no need to be so formal around me. Just remember that there are appropriate times for you to be professional, certain lines that should never be crossed. Today we're going to go over the new tracks. Mostly getting a feel for them since we don't have any official lyrics yet. If you have an idea, don't be afraid to say something. I'll get to know you all in terms of what style best suits you and what your limits are in vocal range. If you can't reach a specific volume don't force yourself. These songs aren't final until _you_ say so." He gestured to all of them. "If you are unhappy with something, I'll take care of it. Don't let the higher ups scare you into thinking otherwise." The group nodded and Yoongi spun back around to get to work.

_"Okay! Let's get started."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and give kudos. Let me know how I'm doing! I really appreciate your support.


	8. Update!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not an chapter sorry!! But please read!

Hi everyone!

I've been away for a while! For the longest time I've been experiencing the worst writers block!!

I decided to take an impromptu break and started working on separate smaller projects. I wasn't sure what to do with this fic anyway, story wise. It's a mess and I don't have an idea of where the story will go. So I decided to rewrite this fic entirely.

I started a first chapter and will start off a bit differently than before. So I won't have to start everything over I will use some plot points from previous chapters, but the story itself is being redone.

If you have any suggestions or criticism please PLEASE let me know, through comments below or twitter.

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For Eternal Flame 2.0 I want to start with Yoongi pre-debut. Yoongi will be waiting for a meeting with Bang Shihyuk. So far, my initial plan is to have the two make an attempt to gather members to make Bangtan.

I'm still working out plot points, but in this fic Bantan won't succeed. Not because I don't like them, I love the boys, I just feel like this would be interesting, to explore how things would be different if they weren't the ones under the spotlight. TXT will still be aged up and they will take the place of BTS in this timeline.

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I'm in college so I'm not sure when the first chapter will be out.

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What do you think?

Also, should I keep this fic uploaded? Or take it down since it will be redone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on Twitter!
> 
> [@hopetan9](https://twitter.com/HopeTan9?s=03)
> 
> I'm new to twitter so have mercy on my lack of followers


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